Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Pennsylvania Fire Equipment Dealers (PaFED) "News You Can Use"

PAFED "News You Can Use"




Periodically we will send you information on items of interest to the membership, the association or the industry.

Information on PAFED events, conferences, training...

Information concerning legislative or regulatory issues, or changes to state and national codes which effect our industry.

PAFED Spring Conference
 You Are Cordially Invited to Attend the Spring Conference in Gettysburg, PA on April 17-18, 2012 to be held at the "historic" Gettysburg Hotel.

This year's event continues the "business" theme of the last several Spring Conferences.

Seminar sessions at the conference will focus on such issues as:
·         technology trends and how you can use your wireless devices for improving communication and keeping track of expenses/costs,
·         customer service programs and how to identify the tools necessary to review and improve the elements of customer service, and
·         financial strategies and the hows and how not's in relation to both business and personal investing.
Not a distributor member of PAFED ?   Then please consider this your personal invitation to come and see what your industry peers are doing to weather the current economic storm and identify strategies which may help your business improve your profitability.

For our industry vendors and suppliers, while this conference does not include a table top display area, it does however afford numerous networking and sponsorship opportunities where you can meet, interact and discuss business opportunities with the many distributors in attendance.  Please review the enclosed registration form to see what participation / sponsorship opportunities may suite your business.


Whether you are a fire equipment distributor, or an industry vendor and supplier, business is all about meeting people with common interests and challenges and working together to develop a "win / win" business relationship.
  
You owe it to yourself to attend the PAFED 2012 Spring Business Conference...

I hope you will accept our invitation.  We look forward to seeing you in Gettysburg, PA.

2012 PAFED Spring Conference Registration Form is available on the PAFED Website (www.PAFED.com).

  


Conference Session Survey

In preparation for our lunch session - 
"How to Have Raving Customers" - presented by Dick Marks, a retired YMCA CEO. 

Mr. Marks has prepared a brief online survey to help him bettter understand PAFED and our members specific concerns, challenges and opportunities.

Please take the online survey by clicking on the link below:


Thanks for your help in making this a wonderful conference seminar session.





Interested in Playing Golf at the PAFED Spring Conference?

Ed Hammill and Max Foust are planning to play a round of golf on Tuesday 4/17 in Gettysburg at "The Links at Gettysburg"


$61.00 for 18 w/cart (no senior rate).

They have asked that we let everyone know so if anyone else is interested in playing please contact Ed directly at the number below.  


Edward W. Hammill
Extinguishing Systems, Inc.
3023 West Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15216
Ph: 412-531-2300
Fx: 412-531-2735








Monday, March 19, 2012

Oklahoma City considers fire sprinkler requirement for new homes

By Michael Kimball

The Oklahoma City Council is considering adopting a new building code that would require automatic fire sprinkler systems to be installed in new homes. The matter is set for a public hearing March 27 and a potential vote April 3.

A pending decision by the Oklahoma City Council on whether to require automatic fire sprinkler systems in new homes appears to pit public safety advocates and housing industry organizations against one another.

The new Oklahoma building codes allow individual cities to decide on an optional part of the updated rules that would make automatic fire sprinklers mandatory in new construction of houses and duplexes.

The council will debate the issue March 27 in a public hearing and is set to vote on the new rules April 3.

Ward 1 Councilman Gary Marrs, a former city fire chief, is the leading advocate on the council for adopting the optional requirement for automatic sprinklers.

“Hopefully people understand my background. My family spent three generations trying to preserve life and property in Oklahoma City,” Marrs said. “So you can expect that I'm going to be very supportive of something that I know works. Residential fire sprinklers save lives. There's just no two ways about it. They do.”

Developers opposedMarrs acknowledged many developers, contractors and Realtors oppose the requirement.
The Central Oklahoma Homebuilders Association, Oklahoma City Residential Code Commission, Plumbing Appeals and Code Commission and Mechanical Appeals and Code Commission made official recommendations to the council to not mandate fire sprinklers.”

“For my homebuilder friends in the audience, and I still consider them friends, they may not feel the same way,” Marrs said.

Local and state fire officials have expressed staunch support for requiring automatic fire sprinklers in new home construction. It's already required in new apartment buildings.

State lawmakers are considering new legislation that would change the code to not allow cities to require sprinklers.

Marrs called firefighters to lobby in favor of allowing cities to institute the requirement.

“I'm a little concerned that my fellow firefighters ... are not out there beating the doors down at the state to save lives as much as they beat the doors down to save their labor issues out there,” Marrs said. “To me, that's a problem.”


Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-considers-fire-sprinkler-requirement-for-new-homes/article/3657704#ixzz1pZG6FPnI